“We didn’t make music for radio. But I thought: ‘Why not try it this time?’”: Sampled by Michael Jackson and namechecked in The Simpsons – the surprise hit that transformed a washed-up 70s prog group into 80s superstars

Yes’ Jon Anderson performing onstage in 1984.

At the dawn of the 80s, Yes were the very last band anyone expected to storm the US singles chart. Since they started out in 1968, the British proggers had traded in sprawling, concept-driven works that chalked up big album sales but didn’t get a sniff of drive-time radio.

Back then, with the prog scene on the ropes – its grandiosity pricked by punk’s safety pin – it seemed Yes’s time had come and gone.